My name is Jason, and I’ve played and loved every Halo game. Reach is probably the best of the bunch. I’ve played quite a bit of multiplayer, but I don’t consider myself to be competitive in that regard. Admittedly, I’m probably nowhere near as skilled as David is. As such, I thought I’d talk about something a little different from your regular strategies.

There’s an element of randomness in all Halo games, especially Halo Reach, that makes it unique. Reach is filled with physics objects, explosives, vehicles, and more that all have unique behaviors. When you put them all together, you have a very dynamic game play experience that can sometimes throw any strategy that you’re using out the window. You just can’t plan around something that you can’t expect.

For instance, rockets in Reach have actual physical properties that can occasionally cause them to fly off in a random direction. If you fire a rocket at someone, and an explosion goes off near your rocket, it will spin out of control and you won’t know where it’ll hit. Likewise, you never know when you’ll get hit by someone else’s stray rocket, be it from a friend or a foe.

A favorite activity among Halo players is throwing random grenades all the way across the map in the hopes that they’ll just happen to hit someone. One of my favorite things to do on Valhalla is toss a grenade into the mancannon at either base, thus launching it hundreds of yards away. You never know… maybe you’ll get lucky!

Perhaps one of the most random aspects of Halo: Reach is the vehicles. With Reach’s fantastic physics, you can never be sure if your vehicle will be able to handle the maneuver you’re about to pull off, or if you’ll go tumbling, leaving you vulnerable. And if you’re on foot facing off with an enemy vehicle, you better be extra careful. Even if you manage to blow it up, you or a teammate could be killed by flying debris!

The dynamic and random nature of Halo games has always been really interesting to me, and it’s something you need to pay attention to and attempt to harness if you want to be really good at the game.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thank you Jason. Check Jason's blog out at http://gamesofart.blogspot.com/.

Containing many walkways and located by a Mag-Lev Train line, Boardwalk, is set in an urban plaza in the city of New Alexandria. Here is an image I've uploaded from within the game. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Boardwalk has six power weapons; rockets, two snipers, two shotguns, and a plasma launcher. The shotguns and snipers spawn every two minutes, while rockets and plasma launcher spawn every three minutes. Each team has one sniper and one shotgun near each base. Blue team clearly has the advantage in this map though, with top spawn and rockets being closer to their spawn, while red team normally gets plasma launcher.Keys to Success

Taking control of rockets and snipers almost always guarantees victory in Boardwalk, that's why blue team has the advantage here, or do they? There is a way for red team to get rockets before blue team but it rarely happens. The trick is using jet pack around the glass window under skybridge and catching blue team of guard. Since this map has many distinct locations, making call outs is always crucial. Here is a list of the call outs within Boardwalk:

Unlike most maps, top map control isn't really important here if you just want to get rockets. Since rockets spawn in the service tunnels on the bottom floor, guarding the bottom is the best way to get rockets. The best setup doesn't include guarding rockets until the time comes. You need one sniper at top sniper spawn and another teammate with rockets at skybridge. The other sniper should be at the visitor center while the last teammate gets ready for new rockets spawn with a shotgun.

One of the original maps from the Beta, Powerhouse, is an asymmetrical map that is set in a hydroelectric facility. Here is an image I've uploaded from within the game. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Powerhouse has five power weapons; rockets, focus rifle, grenade launcher, hammer, and shotgun. Red team again clearly has the advantage in this map, with rockets, hammer, and grenade launcher being right in front of their spawn. Blue team normally gets focus rifle and shotgun. Shotgun, rockets, and focus rifle spawn every three minutes, while hammer spawns every two minutes, and grenade launcher spawns every 90 seconds.

Keys to SuccessSimilar to Reflection, taking control of rockets almost always guarantees victory in Powerhouse. Since this map also has many distinct locations, team work and call outs are always crucial. Here is a list of the call outs within Powerhouse:

Top map control is really important in this medium sized, power weapon-heavy map, if you always want to get rockets. Having a teammate with rockets at Powerhouse 2nd floor almost guarantees your team will get rockets. Another teammate should stand at top red spawn with a focus rifle, but be careful for enemies spawn behind you at rock garden. The last two teammates should keep an eye out for new weapon re-spawns, one should camp hammer room with a hammer and the other at top blue spawn with a shotgun.

The Halo 2 remake of Ivory Tower, Reflection, is set in New Alexandria at the Sinoviet HM Tower. Here is an image I've uploaded from within the game. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Reflection has four power weapons; rockets, sniper, sword, and shotgun. Red team clearly has the advantage in this map, with rockets being right in front of their spawn. Blue team normally gets sniper unless red team uses jet pack to get to the top floor first. Blue team usually gets sword, while shotgun is always up for grabs. All four power weapons spawn every three minutes.

Keys to Success

Taking control of rockets almost always guarantees victory, that's why red team has the advantage. At the start, all blue team can do is hope no one from red team uses jet pack and steals the sniper. Since this map has so many distinct locations, making call outs is always crucial. Here is a list of the call outs within Reflection:

Top map control is really important in Reflection if you always want to get rockets and sniper. For that, you need sniper at high balcony (aka sniper spawn) and a teammate with shotgun guarding shotgun lift. You also want a teammate holding sword to guard the other lifts while the last teammate watches the snipers back by looking at elevator shaft.

The current number one at Halocharts.com, Chris, shares his thoughts on Pinnacle. To assist him, here is an image I've uploaded from within the game. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Chris: Well that all depends on what team I'm in.When I'm blue, I drop down for rockets and if I don't get them, I take the teleporter and get the shotgun. After that I'll look back to see if our sniper is still up. When I get rockets I normally head top mid and try to kill the opposing teams' sniper. With shotgun I'd head into the other teams base and take control of it. And with a sniper I'd stay at our base and help out my teammates.

If I'm in the red team, then that means we get the top spawn but only get the sniper. Red team is heavily at a disadvantage when compared to blue team in Pinnacle. I'd usually go after sniper at the start and head back to our base, if that fails then I'll try to get the shotgun and attempt to stop their rockets. The only thing left to do would be to rush the other teams' sniper.

What would be the perfect setup in this map? Where would you want all your teammates to be positioned at all times?

This map can be really unfair if you have a good team setup. If you have one teammate at each tower with a sniper you are pretty much set. But if you want to make the other team quit, then have a teammate positioned at banshee (bottom left of map) with rockets and another at shotgun spawn with shotgun. There's not much the other team can do against that setup in this map so they'll probably quit.

My oldest teammate in the Halo series, Omri, has also broken into the top 100 at Halocharts.com. I asked him a few a questions regarding strategies for Countdown. To assist him, here is an image I've uploaded from within the game. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Omri: Well I like it, mainly because of its symmetry, symmetrical maps normally have the same weapon spawns mirrored on each side, making the match more fair than non symmetrical maps. In the end the better team usually wins.

How do you normally start of a match in Countdown?

At the start I normally run down the steps from our spawn and take the lift to sword. If for some reason I'm not able to get sword, I always have my trusty DMR with me. I would then look down at shotgun spawnbut it's most likely going be taken by now. With only two power weapons in the whole map, there's not much you can do at the start besides try to establish top map control as soon as possible.

What do you think is the best strategy or the best setup for this map?

Well the best strategy would be to have top map control right from the start, like I said, that would easily give your team the advantage. The best setup would definitely consist of one teammate with a shotgun guarding the top lifts by balcony, and another teammate with sword watching the two other lifts by sword spawn. The other two teammates should be in watching over new weapon spawns and helping out with call outs. Countdown is all about top map control.

To help me out on a strategy for a Big Team Battle map, I've gotten my friend, Dmitry, who's more experienced than I am in these type of maps. I asked him some questions regarding strategy in Hemorrhage. To better illustrate his thoughts, I've uploaded an image from within the game and edited it to contain the newly updated vehicle locations. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Me: How would you normally start of a Big Team Battle match in Hemorrhage?

Dmitry: Well I love sniping, so I'd normally go for the sniper and head to the other teams ridge to take their sniper down. In BTB it's really just preference on what you like doing, since there are eight people per team, there's a lot of options. For example, if for some reason I don't get the sniper or a teammate calls it out before I do, I'd try to get in a vehicle, preferably the Wraith. If that fails then I'd try to hop on the Hog (aka Warthog) with another teammate.

Since there are more people in a Big Team Battle than in a normal Slayer game, then there have to be more strategies right? What do you thing the best strategy is in Hemorrhage?

Yeah there's definitely more strategies, I mean there are just so many options at the start of the match. Although in Hemorrhage there is one strategy that I know of that seems to never fail. The most important part of this strategy is to take down the other teams' vehicles as quick as possible, for that you need one teammate to rush top mid on a Mongoose or Ghost and get blueberry (aka plasma launcher). That teammate needs to use the blueberry to destroy the other teams Wraith as soon as possible.

Now you have seven other teammates; one needs to be in a Wraith, another one needs to get the sniper, while four others need to get on both Hogs, leaving one last teammate to do whatever he wants. Normally that last guy will go and steal the other teams' sniper or vehicles.

A small covenant map known for its symmetry and few weapon spawns, Zealot, contains only one power weapon; the sword. Here is an image I've uploaded from within the game and edited to contain the newly updated weapon locations. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Unlike most maps, Zealot only has one power weapon and it doesn't even spawn at the start of the match. The sword spawns in the top middle of the map exactly two minutes into the game. Most people usually forget about the sword or get caught up somewhere else, so it's an easy grab if you wait for it. Normally I recommend using sprint in just about every map, but jet pack is equally effective in Zealot, if not more effective due the fact that there are three levels and no power weapons at the start.

Keys to Success

Top map control and team work are both crucial in this map, and when I say "top map" in Zealot, I'm not referring to the outer location that's accessed via gravity lift or jet pack known as "space". Top map is the floor where both teams originally spawn. Since there are almost no power weapons, Zealot usually becomes a DMR battle between both teams, so remember to pace your shots and help your teammates like always.

Perfect Setup

In Zealot there really is no perfect setup since it's such a small map, but if there was, it would be to always take control of top map. If your team is spread out evenly throughout the top of the map, the opposing team should always spawn on the bottom floor right under you giving your team the advantage.

One of the few maps in the game where you can easily commit suicide by falling of the map, The Cage, has multiple power weapons, but only two are crucial; the sniper, and rockets. Here is an image I've uploaded from within the game and edited to contain the newly updated weapon locations. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Although there are multiple power weapons in this map like the shotgun and grenade launcher, there are only two that work well within this map. Those two are the sniper, and the overpowered rockets. Red team again has the advantage with weapons in this map, spawning at the bottom right corner with the sniper almost a sure thing, and rockets being up for grabs between both teams. Similar to the other maps I've reviewed, jet pack is very useful here for easy access to all levels of the map, but I still recommend sprint to get what you want before anyone else.

Key to Success

The center of the map, known as "the cage", is the key to success in this map. Besides obtaining the sniper, taking control of the cage guarantees your team to always have rockets and to possess top map control. Red team should always have one teammate run to sniper while the rest rush to rockets. Blue team should have at least two teammates rush rockets and the rest try to kill and steal the sniper by throwing grenades across the map.

Perfect Setup

The ultimate setup in The Cage is to have complete top map control in every location within the map. By every location, I'm referring to the cage, the tower, blue spawn, and sniper spawn. Rocket man should always be at either the cage or blue spawn. While the sniper needs to be at either the sniper spawn or the tower, which is located on top of red spawn. With this setup, all your teammates will always be able to keep an eye on you and top map control is guaranteed for an easy win.

One of the smallest and most popular map within the game, Asylum, contains five power weapons; two snipers, two shotguns, and one sword. Here is an image I've uploaded from within the game and edited to contain the newly updated weapon locations. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

In this symmetrical map split down the middle, both teams have the exact same weapons mirrored on each side of the map. The only weapon that stands alone here is the sword, located in center of the map known as "the ring". Each team has a sniper at their base, and a shotgun right under it which spawns every two minutes unlike the other power weapons here. Like in Sword Base, I recommend using sprint to get to the power weapons before your teammates and enemies. Here is another image showing only the power weapons in Asylum.

The key to Asylum is to take control of the center of the map, the ring. A basic strategy to accomplish this is to have at least two teammates rush the ring at the start of the match, and another rush to sniper. One teammate in the ring should get sword for close combat while the sniper watches his teammates backs as he tries to kill the opposing sniper. If this all goes according to plan, there's almost no way for your team to lose map control and the match itself.

Perfect Setup

As stated, control of the ring is the key to this map and also necessary for the perfect setup. The perfect setup would consist of three teammates taking control of the ring, one with a shotgun and another with the sword, while guarding the side entrances known as the "jump ups". The other teammate should have a sniper and should move between the sniper spawn and the original team spawn. When map control has been completely established, normally within the first sniper re-spawn at the three minute mark, the sniper should move up to the ring while another teammate pushes to the opposing teams sniper spawn for the steal.

One of the original Halo: Reach maps from the Beta, Sword Base, offers three power weapons; the sniper, shotgun, and sword. Here is an image I've uploaded from within the game and edited to contain the newly updated weapon locations. It's a top view of the map containing a red and blue dot showing where both teams initially spawn.

Blue team spawns at the bottom floor and has easy access to the sword. Red team, having the advantage, has top spawn and should always obtain the shotgun located under the top floor ramp. The sniper is the last power weapon left and spawns at the bottom floor straight under red spawn and across from blue spawn. Red team, having top control, should always get the sniper. Although most areas in this map are easiest to access by jet pack, at the start of the match I recommend using sprint to reach the desired weapons before your teammates.

Key to Success

The most important thing to maintain while playing in Sword Base is to have top map control. Having top map control guarantees that you always get shotgun and sniper. The power weapons in this map spawn every three minutes from when they were picked up. To always have the advantage, remember when weapons are about to spawn and if possible head for the weapon spawn.

Perfect Setup

Every map has a perfect setup where you would want all your teammates, with a specific weapon, placed to have the ultimate advantage. In Sword Base shotgun should always be at top yellow lift, located at top left of the map. The sniper should always be at the top red lift, located at the bottom right of the map. Now the rest of the team should be spread out but only enough to were they can see and help each other. Remember top map control is the key to this map.

Friday, October 21, 2011

As I stated before, the best way to improve at Reach is to understand the game and the maps. I will share these strategies with you, but first we need to go over the basics. This all depends on if you’re running in solo or with teammates.

Lone Wolf

If you’re solo, something that I have realized after playing for as long as I have, you can never fully trust your teammates. Remember to always be aware of your surroundings; if you think your teammates always have your back, you’re most likely going to die. It's impossible to know what your teammates will do with out any type of communication. For example, on big maps with multiple vehicles, don’t depend on your teammates, I recommend running on foot and going after power weapons.

Wolf Pack

On the other hand, you’re always better off with trustworthy teammates with whom you can communicate and strategize. To have the upper hand in Reach, you and your team must understand that every map has a different layout of weapons and vehicles. Also, depending on the playlist, weapons and vehicles may spawn at different locations and times, or maybe not spawn at all.

Final Tip

Another piece of advice I can share with you, as an experienced gamer, is to remember to keep your cool. In Reach, the impossible always seems to happen, and you’re going to die or lose for unimaginable reasons. I can tell you that getting mad will never help you out, just breathe. Goosfraba.

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Halo series, developed by Bungie and exclusive to Microsoft, takes place in the 26th century and mainly centers on the experiences of a genetically enhanced human super soldier. The super soldier goes by the name of Master Chief John-117 and is essentially the cream of the crop. Master Chief is regarded as the best amongst the Spartans, a group of enhanced super soldiers, due to his heroics in the war against a military alliance of alien races known as the Covenant.

The Halo Series

Since the release date of Halo: Combat Evolved in 2001, the Halo series has been regarded by most as one of the best first-person shooter video games of all times. Halo is also responsible for a considerable increase in sales of the consoles it runs on, the Xbox and Xbox 360. With the release date of Halo 2 in 2004, the Halo series entered the world of online gaming through Xbox Live. Most would argue that Halo 2’s online multiplayer is the reason that the series is as popular as it is.

Bungie's GoodbyeIn late 2007 Bungie released their final game in the original trilogy, Halo 3. With several new additions consisting of new weapons, vehicles, equipment, and the ability to create your own maps through the Forge, Halo 3 lived up to the hype. Shortly after the release date of Halo 3, Bungie announced it was splitting from Microsoft and would end their part with Halo: Reach, a side story and prequel to the original Halo series.

Well here we go; let’s start this off with a brief introduction and a glimpse at what I'm preparing for this blog.

The Plan

Most gamers would agree that Halo is one of most difficult games in its category, and in many cases matchmaking online can be difficult for them due to a lack of experience and understanding, resulting in a poor gaming experience. The idea behind this blog is to use my video gaming experience and knowledge to help any gamer who is looking to improve in the multiplayer component of Halo: Reach. I believe the best approach to meet this goal is to have tested strategies for every map. I will share these strategies with the help of pictures and videos, and also with the assistance of other experienced gamers. Hopefully my tips will improve the gamers’ judgment during game play, make them a better player and teammate, and keep their gaming interest alive.

About MeEver since I can remember, I've been playing all types of video games fanatically but none more than Halo. My history with the Halo series goes back to the release date of Halo 2 in 2004. I have participated in Major League Gaming (MLG) tournaments for Halo: Reach. MLG competitions are broadcasted on television and bring together the best gamers in the world. I am currently ranked in the upper regions of the top 100 in the world at halocharts.com in Halo: Reach competitive multiplayer. I plan to use my seven years of experience with Halo to guide gamers in search of new tactics in the right direction.